is a

Shinto shrine A is a structure whose main purpose is to house ("enshrine") one or more ''kami'', the deities of the Shinto religion. Overview Structurally, a Shinto shrine typically comprises several buildings. The '' honden''Also called (本殿, meani ...

located in the city of

Gifu is a city located in the south-central portion of Gifu Prefecture, Japan, and serves as the prefectural capital. The city has played an important role in Japan's history because of its location in the middle of the country. During the Sengoku ...

Gifu Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Gifu Prefecture has a population of 1,991,390 () and has a geographic area of . Gifu Prefecture borders Toyama Prefecture to the north; Ishikawa Prefecture to the northwest, F ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. It was built as the shrine to protect Izumii Castle (predecessor to Kanō Castle). As a Tenman-gū, it is dedicated to Tenjin, the deified form of Sugawara no Michizane. Additionally, Matsudaira Mitsushige, who first created

Gifu Umbrellas , or Gifu Japanese umbrellas, are a special product of the city of Gifu in Gifu Prefecture, Japan. They have been labeled as one of Gifu's traditional crafts. History In 1639, the Matsudaira clan became rulers of the Kanō Domain and brought wit ...

, is also canonized on the shrine grounds. The shrine's festival is held on the third Saturday and Sunday of October each year.

History

In 1445,

Saitō Toshinaga was a ''daimyō'' during Japan's Muromachi period. He was the son of Saitō Sōen (斎藤宗円), ''shugo'' of Mino Province, and the older brother of Saitō Myōchin, making him the uncle of the warlord Saitō Dōsan. By his first wife, he was t ...

constructed Izumii Castle (泉井城 ''Izumii-jō'') and, at the same time, commissioned the construction of the Tenman-gū for the god that would protect the castle. (Other records indicate that the shrine was first constructed in 1350.) Even after Izumii Castle was abandoned in 1538, people were still being enshrined in the Tenman-gū after their deaths.

Okudaira Nobumasa called Okudaira Sadamasa (奥平貞昌), was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the Sengoku and early Edo periods. Nobumasa's family considered their origins to have been associated with Mikawa Province. The clan was descended through the Akamatsu f ...

built Kanō Castle in 1601 and moved the shrine to its current location and named it Kanō Tenman-gū.''Gifu City Walking Map''. Gifu Lively City Public Corporation, 2007. In 1810, nearly four centuries after its construction, the shrine's ''

haiden Haiden may refer to: *A Gewürztraminer wine * Haiden (Shinto), the hall of worship of a Shinto shrine See also * Heiden (disambiguation) {{disambig ...

'' (拝殿 ''prayer hall'') was rebuilt. This structure, however, was damaged on October 28, 1891 when the Mino–Owari earthquake struck the area. The shrine was again damaged in 1945, during the firebombing of Gifu during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Most of the shrines buildings were lost to fire, but the ''haiden'' remained. An early reconstruction of the ''

honden In Shinto shrine architecture, the , also called , or sometimes as in Ise Shrine's case, is the most sacred building at a Shinto shrine, intended purely for the use of the enshrined ''kami'', usually symbolized by a mirror or sometimes by a sta ...

'', or main shine, took place in 1948, but it was again rebuilt in 2003. At the same time, the float carrying tradition that was stopped after World War II was brought back as part of the Kanō Tenman-gū Festival.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kano Tenman-Gu Buildings and structures in Gifu Shinto shrines in Gifu Prefecture Tenjin faith